Israel army says 2 Palestinians killed attempting West Bank attacks
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Israeli armoured vehicles in Jenin in the occupied West Bank during an army raid on Aug 31.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
JERUSALEM – The Israeli army said on Aug 31 that two Palestinians were killed overnight while preparing to carry out bombings in the occupied West Bank, where an Israeli operation entered a fourth day
Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose unprecedented Oct 7 attack on southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza, issued a statement hailing a “heroic operation” in the south of the West Bank, saying it came at “a sensitive time” amid Israeli forces pressing on with raids in the north of the territory.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, a Hamas ally that has a strong presence in the northern West Bank, similarly said it “congratulates” the perpetrators of what it called a “coordinated attack”.
The Israeli army described a vehicle explosion at a petrol station in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc as “an attempted car bombing by a terrorist” who was later killed.
An army officer “was moderately injured, and a reservist officer responsible for the security in a nearby community sustained minor injuries”, it said in a statement.
In the second incident, the head of security in the Israeli settlement of Karmei Zur engaged in a car chase with a “terrorist” who had infiltrated the settlement compound, leading to a collision and “the terrorist being neutralised shortly after”, the statement said.
“During the confrontation, an explosive device in the terrorist’s car detonated,” it added.
Since Aug 28, at least 20 Palestinians, most of them militants, have been killed by the Israeli army in simultaneous raids in several cities in the northern West Bank.
Since Aug 30, soldiers have concentrated their operations on the city of Jenin and its refugee camps, long a bastion of Palestinian armed groups fighting against Israel.
On the morning of Aug 31, an AFP photographer in Jenin heard ongoing clashes in the city, where the streets were mostly empty save for armoured vehicles, including one that blocked access to the government hospital.
Violence has surged in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct 7 attack.
A Palestinian man raising his arms as he is stopped and searched by Israeli forces during a military operation in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Aug 31.
PHOTO: AFP
The United Nations said on Aug 28 that at least 637 Palestinians had been killed in the territory by Israeli troops or settlers since the Gaza war began.
Nineteen Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during army operations over the same period, according to Israeli official figures.
Of the 20 Palestinians reported dead since Aug 28, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have said at least 13 were members of their armed wings. AFP
